Free Class of '59 (American Journey Book 4) by John A. Heldt

again but did not respond. He had nothing to add and knew that he and the others had more important things to discuss than lumpy mattresses.
    "What did you and Piper do today?" Mark asked.
    "We walked around the neighborhood," Mary Beth said.
    "Did you see anything interesting?"
    Mary Beth cocked her head.
    "Everything is interesting when you're stuck in the past."
    "Are you stuck?" Mark asked.
    Mary Beth looked at him thoughtfully.
    "I don't feel stuck. I feel like I'm in limbo."
    Mark turned to Piper.
    "How about you? Do you feel the same way?"
    "I do," Piper said.
    "Do you want to go back to 2017?" Mark asked.
    Piper took a breath.
    "I haven't decided."
    "I understand," Mark said.
    Piper looked at her host.
    "I'm glad you do. This is really hard."
    "What about you, Ben?" Mary Beth asked. "You haven't said much. What do you think we should do? What do you want us to do?"
    Ben did not answer right away. He lowered his fork to his plate, sighed, and then studied Piper for a moment, as if trying to decide whether she was worth any future aggravation.
    "I don't know, Mary Beth. I don't."
    "That's an honest answer," Mary Beth said. "It's not a helpful one, but it's honest. We have a lot to think about. We have a lot of options to consider."
    "Do we?" Mark asked.
    "Do we what?"
    " Do we have a lot of options? It seems to me we have only three."
    "Please explain," Mary Beth said.
    Mark looked around the table before offering an answer. He wondered what each of the others really thought about turning a time-travel weekend into something more.
    He suspected that Mary Beth wanted more. He had suspected that from the moment she had put a hand on his arm and told him that he was "nice" and "interesting." He could not believe that a woman who had had so much fun in Las Vegas was ready to walk away now.
    Mark was not as sure about Piper and Ben, who sat across from each other at the table. He guessed that they wanted to do more time traveling but not necessarily with each other. They had not wanted to do much of anything with each other since Saturday morning.
    Mark gazed at the frowning teens for a moment and then turned to the woman who wanted him to explain his statement. He gathered his thoughts and continued.
    "I think our options are pretty clear," Mark said. "We can travel to 2017, stay here in 1959, or say goodbye and return to our respective times."
    "Can't we all just come and go as we please?" Mary Beth asked.
    "We can't if we want to keep our discovery to ourselves."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Think about it," Mark said. "Ben and I can't travel to the future without friendly assistance. We don't live in this place in 2017. We don't know Geoffrey Bell or his wife. If we traveled again to June 2, 2017, we would have to return within hours. We would have to return before your parents or the Bells came back to the house or risk losing access to the tunnel."
    "What about us?" Mary Beth asked. "Couldn't Piper and I visit 1959 – and you two – as often as we wanted? I have a crystal."
    "You're right. You do have a crystal. What you don't have is permanent access to the tunnel. Unless you plan to move to L.A. and bring the Bells in on our little secret, you have only a day or so to do more traveling. Didn't you say the Bells planned to return on June 3?"
    "I did."
    Mark frowned.
    "Then there you have it."
    "What if Piper and I stay here – in 1959 – for the rest of the week. We could stay here until your mom comes home on Sunday," Mary Beth said. "How does that sound?"
    "That sounds nice," Mark said in a soft voice. He looked wistfully at Mary Beth. "Any option that gives me more time with you is a good one."
    Mary Beth blushed and smiled.
    "It appears we've found a solution."
    "What if I wanted to do more?" Piper asked.
    Mark looked at Piper.
    "What do you mean?"
    Piper took a breath.
    "What if I wanted to stay longer than a week in 1959? What if I wanted to do more than take road trips to Las Vegas or go shopping or go to the